[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 177 (Wednesday, September 11, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47866-47867]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-23207]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rocky Mountain Region; Environmental Impact Statement for Sheep 
Flats Diversity Unit Timber Sales, Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison 
National Forests, Mesa County, Colorado

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Revison of a Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental 
impact statement.

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RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL: The responsible official for this environmental 
impact statement is Mr. Robert Storch, Forest Supervisor of the Grand 
Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests, 2250 Highway 50, 
Delta, Colorado 81416.

SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact 
statement about four (4) proposed timber sales: Valley View, Sheep 
Flats, Grove Creek, and Leon. These sales are located in the Sheep 
Flats Diversity Unit on the Grand Mesa National Forest, Collbran Ranger 
District.

DATES: Publication of Draft EIS: November 1996; Final EIS: August 1997.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Pam Bode, Team Leader, USDA Forest 
Service, 216 North Colorado Street, Gunnison, CO, 81230. Contact Pam 
Bode also for further information. Phone: 970-641-0471. FAX: 970-641-
1928.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Forest Supervisor will use this 
Environmental Impact Statement to decide how to manage the timber 
resource within the Sheep Flats Diversity Unit. The Forest Service is 
proposing to harvest four timber sales on this National Forest system 
land. Even-aged and uneven-aged silvicultural systems are being planned 
in Engelmann spruce, sub-alpine fir, and aspen stands. These sales are 
scheduled to be offered within a five to ten year period after this 
analysis.
    Initial scoping of interested parties identified three preliminary 
issues. These are: (1) Constructing roads and harvesting timber within 
an area that was identified as the Salt Creek Roadless Area during the 
1979 RARE II process, (2) harvesting old growth timber, and (3) 
cumulative impacts on ecosystems from logging operations in and around 
the sale areas.
    Five alternatives will be studied in this analysis. Alternative 1 
is no action. Alternatives 2 and 4 harvest suitable timber but do not 
enter the Salt Creek Roadless Area. Alternative 2 creates a balance of 
structural stages and accommodates wildlife travel corridors. 
Alternative 4 maximizes the amount of wood fiber removed. Alternatives 
3 and 5 harvest suitable timber throughout the Diversity Unit, 
including within the Salt Creek Roadless Area. Alternative 3 creates a 
balance of structural stages and accommodates wildlife travel 
corridors. Alternative 5 maximizes the amount of wood fiber removed. 
The proposed action is Alternative 3.

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                                                          Acres planned for harvest                             
                     Alternative                      --------------------------------    Volume in    Number of
                                                         Total acres    RARE II acres    board feet      sales  
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1....................................................               0               0               0          0
2....................................................             707               0       2,456,000          1
3....................................................           2,666            1959      11,505,000          4
4....................................................             914               0       3,387,000          1
5....................................................           3,647            2733      15,630,000          4
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    This notice is a renotification of the Forest Service's intent to 
study these timber sales within the Sheep Flats Diversity Unit. A 
previous notice of intent was published in the Federal Register Volume 
57, #31, on 2/14/92. A previous notice of availability of the draft EIS 
was published in Volume 59, #5, on 1/7/94. This notice provides new 
dates for completions of the revised draft and the final Environmental 
Impact Statements. The alternatives that are being studied have changed 
substantially from the previous document.
    Since this is a renotification, news releases have already been 
issued and a public meeting has already taken place in March, 1992. 
Field tours to the proposed area have already been conducted with 
concerned parties. Additional news releases have been issued explaining 
the new timeline for this analysis. Parties that expressed interest 
previously have been informed individually by mail that this analysis 
is continuing. No additional public meetings are planned, however, the 
Forest Service is willing to consider any party's request for 
additional field tours or public meetings.
    The comment period on the draft environmental impact statement will 
be 45 days from the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes 
the notice of availability in the Federal Register.
    The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, it is important 
to give reviewers notice of several court rulings related to public 
participation in the

[[Page 47867]]

environmental review process. First, reviewers of draft environmental 
impact statements must structure their participation in the 
environmental review of the proposal so that it is meaningful and 
alerts an agency to the reviewer's position and contentions. Vermont 
Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 553 (1978). Also, 
environmental objections that could be raised at the draft 
environmental impact stage but that are not raised until after 
completion of the final environmental statement may be waived or 
dismissed by the courts. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.2d 1016, 1022 
(9th Cir. 1980) and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 
1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980). Because of these court rulings, it is very 
important that those interested in this proposed action participate by 
the close of the 45 day comment period so that substantive comments and 
objections are made available to the Forest Service at a time when it 
can meaningfully consider them and respond to them in the final 
environmental impact statement.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft 
environmental impact statement should be as specific as possible. It is 
also helpful if comments refer to specific pages or chapters of the 
draft statements. Comments may also address the adequacy of the draft 
environmental impact statement or the merits of the alternatives 
formulated and discussed in the statement. Reviewers may wish to refer 
to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for implementing 
the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act at 
40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.

    Dated: August 8, 1996.
Robert L. Storch,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 96-23207 Filed 9-10-96; 8:45 am]
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